Perseverative conversation is a problem vocal behavior that is unique to individuals with Asperger's disorder. It is characterized by long-winded monologues revolving around circumscribed interests. The current research literature suggests that perseverative conversation may exacerbate already poor social relations, impede productivity at work and home, and lead to disruptive behavior when it is restricted. Despite the negative repercussions there is a lack of research related to the assessment and treatment of this behavior. In the field of applied behavior analysis, concurrent operants assessments have been used effectively to identify relative preference for concurrently available reinforcers. In the current study, choice assessments using concurrent operants arrangements were used to evaluate the reinforcing properties of perseverative conversation in children and adolescents with Asperger's disorder. Five participants, all with Asperger's disorder and reported difficulties with perseverative conversation, were assessed in three phases: A preference assessment for conversation topics; an assessment of preference for reinforcer dimensions; and an assessment of preference for competing dimensions. In the first phase a two-stage preference assessment separated high-preferred from less-preferred conversation topics and in the second and third phases participants were asked to make choices regarding their preference for conversation content, conversational style, and conversation duration. Phase II results suggested that participants preferred conversing about their respective circumscribed interests over neutral topics, actively conversing rather than listening, and conversing for longer duration rather than shorter duration. Phase III, which assessed relative preference for the three reinforcer dimensions, resulted in a hierarchy of preference for all but one participant. Two participants demonstrated the strongest preference for conversation content and two participants demonstrated the strongest preference for conversational style. Conversation duration was least preferred by four of the five participants. Perseverative conversation occurred at a relatively high rate across all assessment phases. The results are discussed in terms of current theoretical explanations for perseverative thinking and behavior, implications for treatment, and future research of this problem vocal behavior.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which the use of social stories that integrate a child’s particular restricted and repetitive behaviors results in differential social outcomes compared to the use of social stories that do not integrate restricted and repetitive behaviors. A non-concurrent multiple baseline experimental design across participants was used to examine the effects of two Social Story interventions on the frequency of appropriate social behaviors made by participants in a school setting. Field notes were also completed during each day of data collection in order to document the social context, events, activities, moods and behaviors of participants associated with each data collection session. Field notes also included the researcher’s thoughts, observations, and reflections on these variables. Overall, the intervention that included participants’ restricted interests within the Social Story had the effect of increasing participants’ appropriate social behaviors in contrast to the intervention that did not employ restricted interests. This research substantiates the principle that the restricted interests of children with ASD should not be viewed as a form of deficiency that needs to be eliminated. Rather, restricted interests should be viewed as reinforcing agents that increase children’s motivation to pursue activities that involve social initiations and interactions with their peers.

Autism-spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders that are becoming increasingly more prevalent. A diagnostic criterion for autism is the presence of restricted, repetitive behaviours (RRBs), one of which is the intense fascinations for virtually any topic: circumscribed interests (CIs). CIs have the potential to be used for motivational purposes. This study employed semi-structured interviews using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) with individuals with ASDs and their parents. In total, 11 families participated in this study, comprising 33 individuals (16 parents and 17 individuals with ASDs). This study found five themes: He's Very Unique; They Don't Realize that Not Everyone Lives and Thinks the Same Thing All the Time; We Couldn't even Pronounce the Names of These Dinosaurs, and Jason was Telling Us; You Can't Change Them, You Can Only Love Them; and So I Can Do My Job at the Same Time and Observe the Weather at the Same Time.

A large majority of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have one or more special interests, i.e. interests that they find to be extremely motivating and engaging. Also, students with ASD often struggle to focus in classroom settings, as academic assignments are typically not as motivating as their special interests. Previous research has shown that special interests can be used to increase academic on-task behavior for young children with ASD but is lacking in terms of academic on-task behavior in adolescents. In this study, a multiple-baseline across participants was used to determine whether altering academic assignments to match individuals’ special interests would increase on-task behaviors in three high school students with ASD. The intervention proved to be effective, as on-task behavior increased in all three participants. Although altering assignments did require some time from teachers this is likely justifiable, given the positive effects for the students. / En övervägande majoritet av ungdomar med autismspektrumtillstånd (AST) har ett eller flera specialintressen; intressen som de tycker är extremt motiverande och engagerande. Dessutom uppvisar elever med AST ofta svårigheter med att fokusera i klassrumsmiljöer, eftersom akademiska uppgifter vanligtvis upplevs vara mindre motiverande än deras specialintressen. Tidigare forskning har visat att specialintressen kan användas för att öka akademiskt on-task-beteende hos små barn med AST, med det saknas forskning gällande detta område hos ungdomar. I den här studien användes en multipel baslinje-design för att undersöka hur inkluderandet av specialintressen i skoluppgifter påverkade akademiskt on-task beteende hos tre gymnasieelever med AST. Interventionen visade sig vara effektiv, då on-task-beteendet ökade hos alla tre deltagare. Trots att denna typ av anpassning av uppgifter är tidskrävande för lärare, är tidsåtgången sannolikt befogad utifrån de positiva effekter det hade för eleverna.